What is Humanitarianism ?

Vincent Fevrier notes that "social media can benefit the humanitarian sector [...] by providing information to give better situational awareness to organisations for broad strategic planning and logistics" and that "crisis mapping really emerged in 2010 during the Haiti earthquake" with "software and digital humanitarian platforms such as Standby Task Force, OpenStreetMap, and many others" being active during many disasters since then.

In fact, the role of social media in digital humanitarian efforts is a considerable one. During the summer of 2010, when open fires raged across Russia, causing many to die from smog inhalation, the use of social media allowed digital humanitarians to map the areas in need of support.

This is because Russians who were hoping to be evacuated were posting online about the conditions they were in which prompted thousands of Russian bloggers to coordinate relief efforts online

The digital humanitarian efforts in Russia were crucial to responding to the fires in 2010 considering the Russian government was vastly unprepared to deal with such a large-scale disaster

Within digital humanitarianism, big data has featured strongly in efforts to improve digital humanitarian work and produces a limited understanding of how a crisis is unfolding. It has been argued that Big Data is constitutive of a social relation in which digital humanitarians claim both the formal humanitarian sector and victims of crises need the services and labor that can be provided by digital humanitarians.

One aspect that sets humans apart from other species is compassion. For many, it’s a trait of character. However, for humanitarians, it’s a way of life. So what is humanitarianism exactly? Humanitarianism goes hand in hand with compassion. Those who work or volunteer in the humanitarian sector value human life above all. That’s why humanitarians make saving lives their vocation and provide aid to those most in need.

There are many things that define a person. These include your job, relationships, religion, style, hobbies, interests, personality, and more. Similarly, humanitarianism is one of these aspects.

Whether you deliver aid as a volunteer or as a paid position, there is a lifestyle and purpose that go along with it. Most humanitarians do not enter the field because they want to make money. In fact, many people who participate in the humanitarian sector are volunteers.

Supporting yourself financially is, of course, important, and should not be ignored. But the motivation to save lives and provide aid is not financial. Rather, it is the compassion that humanitarians feel for others in difficult situations. It is also the drive to lend a helping hand.

Many trace the aid sector back to Henri Dunant, who founded the Red Cross in 1859. This was one of the first organizations to serve those in need and save lives without taking sides. The Red Cross—today the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement—was also the first to create humanitarian principles.

Today, these are widely used by the industry and include Humanity, Independence, Neutrality, and Impartiality. Some of the leading humanitarian organizations include:

Part of the United Nations offices, OCHA is one of the principle agencies within the humanitarian sector

They work as a platform for other organizations to liaise and set out basic standards for humanitarian aid. Additionally, OCHA responds during emergencies and deploys their teams when necessary.

Present in 192 countries, the IFRC is one of the largest and oldest humanitarian organizations in the world.

At the forefront of each of these organizations, you will find humanitarians. These are the people on the ground who serve others either through their work or by volunteering to help.

Why is travel such an important part of humanitarianism? This is because humanitarian aid has no borders, and must not have any. We should help those most in need.

In fact, this is one of the main principles of humanitarian organizations: neutrality. The moral compass of those practicing in the sector steers this way, as well – taking aid where it is required. So when disaster strikes or conflict looms, travel becomes an essential part of delivering aid.

Of course, humanitarians do not choose the destination. For example, thousands of aid workers and volunteers have travelled to Syria and bordering countries over the past years, which is due to the outbreak of war there and many refugees fleeing the violence.

Similarly, hundreds of humanitarians from all over the world are working at the refugee camps established in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.

The basis of all humanitarian work is duty of care. Each individual in the sector feels the duty to care for others in their times of hardship.

This is where humanitarianism begins. Similarly, the organizations that deploy humanitarian workers and volunteers have the duty of care for their collaborators.